More Than Maps

In a weakened economy, government needs all the help it can get. Agencies everywhere are looking for new tools, better processes, more productivity, and increased efficiency. Fortunately geographic information system (GIS) technology can help-now more than ever.

More and more public-sector departments are discovering the value of GIS as it improves operations and reduces costs in an expanding number of disciplines, such as health care, firefighting, police, public works, sanitation, permitting, land assessment, and finance.

To reduce the burden on agency staffs, public-sector agencies are being forced to take a hard look at their workflows, analyzing what they do and how they accomplish their work. In many cases, GIS can help them do it better. GIS has led to a strong return on investment for numerous government agencies in a wide variety of activities.

ESRI, a world leader in the creation of GIS technology, has studied both business and government for years and has identified four key patterns where enterprises have successfully used GIS to improve operations. These are in the areas of data management, planning and analysis, field mobility, and operational awareness. By looking at their own workflows and applying GIS to them, agencies can increase productivity and efficiency.

1. Data Management-With today's tools, it's easier than ever to have fluid, seamless integration between GIS data and your day-to-day processes. It's no longer just about converting existing data into GIS and placing it on maps. Today, organizations can create and maintain data in real time. They can constantly feed new data into their systems and get more out of them.

Getting a handle on their data permits agencies to greatly increase the amount of collaboration they can do with other agencies and jurisdictions. GIS should be part of the enterprise. Organizing information into one dataset for all to share instantly makes numerous processes more efficient.

Establishing a strong GIS dataset also gives government more authority. Many entities today take data from the Internet, mash it up however they want, and proclaim their data to be valid. The public sector, however, needs to be the authoritative source of data in many areas. GIS enables that.

2. Planning and Analysis-Every government agency collects data. To the extent an agency can organize, analyze, and share its data, it will have success. GIS is an easy-to-understand way to view data. A solid geodatabase enables agencies to speed up processes, make faster decisions, and plan for the future.

3. Field Mobility-The use of mobile devices by fieldworkers has risen exponentially in recent years. Laptops, PDAs, smartphones, and other devices have quickly become part of the typical workday. Police officers, firefighters, social workers, site inspectors, and many others, are now connected to the organization's data no matter where they are.

Field-workers are no longer limited to merely collecting data in the field. Now they can share it immediately. They can put data directly into the organization's GIS. Information flows bidirectionally now, allowing much faster dissemination and much greater efficiency.

An aspect of field mobility that's growing particularly fast is the use of logistics data. GIS aids logistics by helping agencies plot optimized routing for fleets and helping balance workloads for maximum efficiency. Collecting real-world data and analyzing it saves time and money. Better routing yields more efficiency, lower fuel costs, less maintenance on vehicles, and fewer carbon emissions. Improved workload balance helps agencies use resources more efficiently. Those are numerous benefits from one tool: GIS.

4. Operational Awareness-Knowledge is vital. Whether responding to an emergency, preparing for a public health issue, or analyzing neighborhoods, government leaders need comprehensive data to make the best decisions. Executive dashboards containing GIS data provide a valuable means for leaders to absorb information quickly so they can make data-driven